Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday congratulated Sohail Afridi for being elected as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister and emphasised the centre-province coordination to achieve the national goals.
This was the first telephonic conversation between PM Shehbaz and CM Afridi following the latter’s election to the top post amid political friction between the federation and the province led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), respectively.
“Centre is ready to work with you [KP government] for Pakistan’s interests,” the premier told the newly-elected chief minister, who took oath a day ago and succeeded Ali Amin Gandapur.
In response, CM Afridi expressed gratitude for PM Shehbaz’s gesture after the latter congratulated him on assuming the office.
Afridi said he informed the premier that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa represents a population of 45 million people and requested permission to meet his party leader.
The CM, talking to journalists in Rawalpindi, said that he had written a letter to the federal and Punjab governments, seeking permission to meet the PTI founder at the Adiala jail, but had so far received no response.
“The prime minister told me he would look into the matter and inform me accordingly,” Afridi said, adding that his government would continue to pursue all constitutional and legal means to secure a meeting.
“We have always followed lawful procedures and will continue to do so.”
The chief minister rejected accusations that the PTI only engaged in protest politics, saying the party had always demonstrated peacefully.
“When justice is not provided through the courts, peaceful protest becomes our constitutional right,” he asserted. “That option remains open to us.”
Afridi said if there was a need to form an advisory council, he would do so himself as the chief minister. Emphasising loyalty to Pakistan, he stated: “Quaid-e-Azam is the founder of the nation — Pakistan comes first, everything else follows.”
He added that since taking office, he had been taking steps for the PTI founder’s release and intended to consult him regarding the formation of the provincial cabinet, along with presenting his own recommendations.
Afridi — a young PTI leader — hails from Bara tehsil of Khyber district and held the portfolio of provincial minister for higher education before becoming the CM.
He is regarded among the party’s most ideological and grassroots-based workers, having been associated with the Imran Khan-founded party since his student years.
In his maiden speech in the KP Assembly, CM Afridi called himself “a champion of confrontational politics”, hinting at the continuation of his predecessor’s efforts to release the PTI founder Khan with new energy.
The young politician further warned that if the PTI founder was moved from Adiala jail without consulting his family and the party, they would paralyse the whole country in protest.
He also touched upon the pressing issue of terrorism in KP, urging the federal government to review its Afghan policy. His statement contrasted the Centre’s policy matters concerning Afghanistan.
His remarks prompted a strong reaction from Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, terming it against the Constitution and the law.
Speaking on Geo News programme “Capital Talk”, Sanaullah said: “Sohail Afridi is saying that he will not work with the federal government.”
Although provinces enjoy autonomy after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, they cannot defy the federal government, said the PM’s aide.
He predicted: “If the chief minister-elect acts in line with what he said in his speech, I don’t think he can function under the Constitution and the law as head of a provincial government.”
Highlighting the former ruling party’s position on operations against terrorism, Sanaullah said that the PTI should behave like a political party if it seeks a democratic and political treatment from the state and the institutions. –Agencies
